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"Why haven't you gotten to Mesopotamia yet..."

Denise Ford

I need support from my wonderful WHP community.  I am the only teacher my building doing World History Project (good for me...). However, as we progress through our studies of village networks and ancient trade networks, I'm confronted with "It's almost November.  When are you going to start teaching about Mesopotamia?"  I know I'm doing this the right way, but I'm faltering in my school environment. I need some support to remind me why this is so much better for my students in their long-term learning of the immensity and wonder and big important ideas of Ancient History.

We are almost ready for the "Early Agrarian Societies jigsaw" so we will be "getting to Mesopotamia" soon (uggh) -- I just need my community to remind me. Anyone else find themselves in a party of one at their school and need to stay strong to keep doing the right thing?

  • Hi  ! You're doing the right thing! We've got your back!

    I felt similarly the first couple of years of WHP Origins--I was leading other teachers at my school through the curriculum change so I felt responsible for every hiccup we experienced. 

    I also had to remind myself that, in all honesty, most kids probably won't remember much about the content in 5, 10 years time BUT they will remember and use the skills from our classes throughout their academic careers and beyond. So even if you never make it to Mesopotamia, you're still teaching them valuable literacy skills, how to work cooperatively, how to problem solve, how to think critically, etc.

    And, more practically, here's the daily and weekly slides I use with my classes if you want to follow along with my pacing. Feel free to make a copy for yourself to edit.

  • Bless you for holding the line. “When are you getting to Mesopotamia?”—classic question, right? But by focusing on big ideas and connections, you’re giving kids something better: a vision of history as this vast, interconnected story. Mesopotamia isn’t just a point on a timeline for them; it’s part of an immense, swirling web of human adventure. And teaching skills over rote facts? That’s the real gift.

    Keep at it. Your students may not know it yet, but they’ll remember this journey, and someday, they’ll thank you for it.

  • in reply to Drew Fortune

    Thank you, Drew.  I love your phrase "an immense, swirling web of human adventure."  I think we should rename all history classes with this phrase. Who would not want to study that? 

    I appreciate the support. Onward.

  • We just got to Mesopotamia last week.  Seems like your right on track.  

    •   you're doing great. Every year, I have grand plans to "get farther" and cover more content, but I also inevitably have to remind myself that the skills we teach are so much more important than the content! It seems like a lot of here feel that way based on the responses you're getting. Grinning
  • in reply to Meaghan Mihalic

    Meaghan, I am definitely "feeling the love" from our community. It gives me reassurance. Today we tackled the claim testing skill while reading both about the Hittites and the Phoenicians.  I was so impressed with their thinking.  I may not be "at Mesopotamia yet," but oh..the learning..and oh..the thinking.

  • I can sort of relate, because I follow the WHP 1750-Present course, and while NY State also begins my curriculum in 1750, I don't "get to" the French Revolution until well after my colleagues.  However, those extra days I spend introducing skills and inserting the fun that WHP offers really do pay off, and I always finish up where I need to be by June.  I think for Big History and Origins this is probably a more pronounced problem though.  

    I remember when a few of our ninth grade teachers piloted Big History here and had a similar issue. (Now all the ninth grade teachers use Big History Nerd!)

        was one of them - maybe he can chime in!

  • As our colleagues here have already stated, you are not alone.  We've all been there (especially in our first few years transitioning to an OER course).  I teach BHP as our 9th grade world history course.  I've been teaching since September, and I won't be up to Mesopotamia until next week.  I remember at a back to school night years ago a parent asked me what we took out of the curriculum to fit all this other material in.  We've all seen it, parents thinking about what they learned in school and colleagues thinking about what they are used to teaching for years, wondering how/why we're able to transition to those courses.  The truth is things are different now.  The minutia is not as valuable as the critical thinking skills we are able to teach them while at the same time giving them an incredibly unique interdisciplinary approach to world history. 

  • Hi  - I’m a little late to the post, but right there with you (in more ways than one). As others have said, it’s about building skills and habits that students will take with them when they leave the classroom. We do a quarter of geography before diving in to Ancient history, so if it makes you feel any better, we’re just moving out of Agrarian societies now. 

    Finally, as you know, if you can’t find the like-minded community in your school, there’s a great, supportive one here. Hang in there, and good luck!